dehydrated chameleon help!

[chris and hannah]

hey i dont know much about chameleons as its my boyfriends and im more into snakes and his at work at the monent so asking the Question for him anyway the chameleon seems to be deyhdrated its eyes have started sinking in when you spray him the will start to come out again and look abit more normal but after a few minitues they just sink again also they have a brownish ring around them where they sink in dunno if this is his colouring though iv sprayed him loads today but they still look sunken in and he doesnt seem to be drinking just runs away from they spray any ideas what i could do or what it could be thanks Hannah.


* Your Chameleon - He is a Velied Yemen, male, we thiknk about roughly 6 months old, we have had him for about 3-4 months.
* Handling - We handle him sometimes but mostly let him do his own thing when his puffed up we leave him alone.
Feeding - we feed him wax worms for treats, and crickets with some carrot about size 4s.
* Watering -We mist everyday atleast 3-4 times a day with a giant spray bottle.
* Fecal Description -black/brown ish colour with white for the pee.
* History - i dont have any history of him got him from a local reptile shop they are very helpful and nice peoplr just thought id get some advice from here.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type -He has a wooden viv with a glass front that slides dont know the mesurements its my boyfriends viv but local reptile shop has assured us its the right size.
* Lighting - he has a 100watt heat bulb and i cant remember what the uv light is, the lights are on from 8 in the morning to 8 at night.
* Temperature - the tempeture at the cool end is about 85 ish and about 90-95 atthe basking end.
* Plants - plastic vines etc and unbrella tree.
* Placement - he is our reptile room along with our other vivs.
*location England



heres a picture the best one i could get cant find a camera that works lol http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac42/hannahchris19/DSCF1245.jpg they look better here because his just been sprayed.

 

[Julirs]

Turn temps down quickly. Those high temps surely have added to dehydration. A baby that age should be low to mid 80's F. It is important to know which UVB-as some are known to cause eye issues which could have contributed to your problem.

 

[pssh]

You say he has white urates which leads me to believe he is just fine as far as water goes. Can you post a picture of his eyes?

White urates = hydrated
yellow urates = slightly dehydrated
orange urates = pretty darn dehydrated

I also think at 6 months, a basking temp of 85 is good with an ambient of 70-75.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Pictures.....

The only thing I have to add is that pictures of the chameleon and of the cage would really help. Also, we need to know the exact brand/type of UVB light you are using. There are some being sold that cause serious health issues. We need to rule that issue out. Get your boyfriend to join this group too!

 

[chris and hannah]

pictures

think iv now added a picture to my original Question at the top if you cant see it here is is again http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac42/hannahchris19/DSCF1245.jpg they look better here because his just been sprayed. bes picure i could get im afraid will try get some more later.

 

[pssh]

What kind of UVB lighting do you have? Coil or linear tube? From what I can see his eye looks okay.

 

[chris and hannah]

light

a tube http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac42/hannahchris19/DSCF1258.jpg

 

[pssh]

Would it be possible for you to take it out of the hood and check to see if it has any information on the tube anywhere?

 

[chris and hannah]

his urine is white with ornage pieaces in it dunno if that is because he eats carrot also i dont think its the uv light because he doesnt close his eyes for long periodes of time if at all i can look later tonight but bulb is abit hot at the monent sorry

 

[pssh]

As long as there us only a little bit of orange at the tip it's fine.

As for gutloading, you need to use a variety of leafy greens like kale, collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, and parsely. Use veggies like carrots, squash, and yams. Every now and then you can use fruits like oranges, papaya, apples, and blue/strawberries. There is a member on her named Sandrachameleon who has an awesome blog about gutloading bugs and stuff.

You also want to try to feed a variety of bugs as well.

 

[chris and hannah]

ok thankyou very much will have a look at that now and search the username will keep you updated tomorrow have changed the bulb to a 60watt and he seems to be a bit better update tomorow.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."we feed him wax worms for treats, and crickets with some carrot about size 4s"...I gutload/feed crickets with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, celery leaves, zucchini, etc.).

You said..."white for the pee"...this doesn't indicate dehydration. Chameleons' eyes can be sunken in for health issues not related to dehydration too.

What is the brand of the UVB light? Does the light from it pass through glass or plastic?

You said..."tempeture at the cool end is about 85 ish and about 90-95 at the basking end"...as was already said, this is a little bit hot.

You didn't mention supplements...do you use any? Which (specific) ones do you use and how often for each?

Could you post a couple more pictures of him too?